ABSTRACT
Through tracing the historic evolution of masculinities in China from literati to entrepreneurial masculinity, this chapter provides a nuanced analysis of the process of mutual constructions between femininities and masculinities in the nexus of gender, class and sexuality. The goal of this chapter is twofold. First, this chapter investigates the ways in which masculine identities are intertwined with prostitution in contemporary China. Second, this chapter argues that the subjugation of women has consistently been the backdrop for the construction of male identity in China, although masculine identities have undergone dramatic changes from classical China to the present.
